Review #78: Sweet, by Erin McCarthy

Sigh. I know better. I don't know why I insist on reading these books.

Jessica is trying to break free from her parents' ultra conservative lifestyle, so she stays at school for the summer, landing in her roommate's boyfriend's house. The boyfriend has a brother - bad boy Riley - who's dealing with raising his two younger brothers after the drug overdose death of his mom. Jessica and Riley have never gotten along, and being thrown together in the house for the summer doesn't help.

Until, of course, they fall in love. And it's true love, because they're 19 and 23, and that always works out. And they have bonus point because he's from the wrong side of the tracks, and has tattoos and smokes and drinks, and she's a good Christian preacher's daughter who repaints the kitchen while Riley's at work. Jessica's parents disown her once they realize who she's dating, and Riley's dealing with keeping custody of his brothers (one of whom has Down's syndrome) while hiding the fact that he might have to go to jail for awhile. So OF COURSE it's going to work out and end happily ever after.

I'm kind of tired of these New Adult books. And I feel like all the lead male characters probably smell pretty bad.

Review #37: True, by Erin McCarthy

I wanted to like this book. I really did, but I just couldn't. Maybe it's the genre - evidently there's a new category called "New Adult" - meaning things you should read as you leave your teens and enter your twenties. If this is what we're handing these "new adults", then... no. Just no.

The story is simple. Rory is a quiet college sophomore, reserved and shy. Her two roommates are definite party girls, and through a series of events, Rory meets Tyler, a tattooed older student who is in the EMT program. Rory's roommates discover that she's a virgin, and they pay Tyler to take her virginity. Tyler, of course, falls for Rory along the way. There are obstacles - Tyler's mom is a drug addict, Rory's father is not happy about the match, and there are a few breakups - but they chug along towards a predictably happy-ever-after ending.

Rory was a fairly unlikable character. There was nothing particularly wrong with her - other than her inexplicable sullen attitude - but I just couldn't like her. Her roommates were bubbleheads, sweet but cluelessly selfish, and not the kind of girls one wants in a crisis. Tyler was supposed to be the bad boy with a heart of gold, but I found him annoying and stubborn and I just kept thinking that he probably smelled bad. The characters were fairly one-note, and I wanted more depth, and without that, the story suffered.

Good news, though. There's a sequel, starring Tyler's brother and one of Rory's roommates,. And since Rory has two roommates, I'm guessing we're going to have a trilogy. I think I'll pass.